Notes:Ken Hitchcock was named the fourth head coach in Columbus Blue Jackets franchise history on Nov. 22, 2006. He has compiled a 500-339-123 record in 962 regular season games with the Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars during his NHL coaching career. He became the 13th coach in NHL history to win 500 or more games with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 19, 2009. He became the third fastest coach to reach 500 wins, doing so in 960 games, trailing only Scotty Bowman (825 games) and Toe Blake (911).
He became the 20th coach in NHL history to coach in 900 or more games on Apr. 5, 2007 at St. Louis. He has coached the Blue Jackets to a 90-90-23 record in 203 games with the club. In nine full seasons behind the bench, he has led his teams to six division titles (Dallas, Central Division: 1996-01; Philadelphia, Atlantic Division: 2003-04) and a pair of second place finishes while recording at least 40 wins and 100 points in each of those campaigns. He has also led his teams to a 66-51 record in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including a 16-7 mark in 1998-99 when he guided the Stars to the Stanley Cup championship.
Hitchcock began his professional coaching career as an assistant coach with the Flyers from 1990-93 before spending two-plus seasons as the head coach of the Kalamazoo Wings/Michigan K-Wings, Dallas’ International Hockey League affiliate. He took over as head coach of the Stars midway through the 1995-96 season and in 1996-97 led them to the Central Division title. That year, Dallas became just the ninth team in NHL history to go from last place to first place in one season. The club’s 38-point improvement from 66 to 104 was tied for the fifth-best in league history.
Hitchcock spent parts of five seasons in Dallas, compiling a 277-166-60 regular season record and 47-33 playoff mark. He led his teams to five Central Division titles, two President’s Trophies (1997-98, 1998-99) and two Western Conference championships (1999, 2000) in addition to the 1999 Stanley Cup. He holds Stars franchise records for wins (277), playoff wins (47), playoff winning percentage (.588) and in 1998-99 led the club to franchise single season records for wins, points and highest winning percentage with a 51-19-12 mark and 114 points (.695). He was nominated for the Jack Adams Award three times (1997, 1998, 1999) and served as the Western Conference’s head coach in three All-Star Games (1997, 1998, 1999).
On May 14, 2002, he was named Flyers head coach and led the club to a 131-83-40 record and a 19-18 mark in the playoffs. Philadelphia posted three-straight 100-point seasons from 2002-06, captured the Atlantic Division title in 2003-04 and advanced to the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals. On Mar. 21, 2006, Hitchcock guided the Flyers to a 2-1 win over New Jersey, becoming the fifth-fastest coach in NHL history to record 400 wins (736 games). He also served as an assistant coach for the Eastern Conference in the 2003 and 2004 All-Star Games.
Hitchcock has also represented Canada at numerous international competitions. He served as an associate coach for Team Canada at the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Games, winning the gold medal at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. He helped Team Canada win the World Cup of Hockey Tournament in 2004 as an associate coach and was an assistant on gold medal-winning squads at the 2002 World Championships and the 1987 World Junior Championships.
Prior to joining the professional ranks, Hitchcock was one of the winningest coaches in the history of the Western Hockey League. From 1984-90, he led the Kamloops Blazers to a 291-125-15 record with his .693 winning percentage ranking second in WHL history. He was the league’s Coach of the Year in 1986-87 and 1989-90 and was also named the Canadian Major Junior Coach of the Year in 1989-90 after leading Kamloops to the WHL championship and a third place finish in the Memorial Cup Tournament.
A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Hitchcock was born on December 17, 1951. He resides in Columbus.

Goaltenders

1 Steve Mason G

6'4'', 212 05/29/1988 ( 20 ), Oakville, ON, CAN

1st NHL / 1st CBJ Season

Last Win: FEB 19, 2009 @ TORONTO (2)

Last Shutout: JAN 30, 2009 vs OTTAWA (9)

How Acquired: Columbus’ second pick, 69th overall, in the 2006 Entry Draft.

Notes: CAREER: Went 32-7-3 with 2.51 GAA, .916 SV%, 3 SO in 42 games with London and Kitchener (OHL) in 2007-08… Ranked third in the OHL in wins, fourth in SV% and was fifth in GAA and shutouts (tied)… Went 5-0-0 with 1.19 GAA, .951 SV%, 1 SO in five games for Canada at 2008 World Jr. Championships… Won gold medal, was named top goaltender and tournament MVP… Named OHL Goaltender of the Year, setting league record for wins in 2006-07… Went 82-23-7 with 2.90 GAA, .916 SV%, 5 SO in 116 career OHL games.

GPI

Min

W

L

T

OT

SO

GA

GAA

Saves

Sv %

Season

41

2439

23

14

-

3

7

89

2.19

1005

0.919

Career

41

2439

23

14

0

3

7

89

2.19

1005

0.919

34 Wade Dubielewicz GDOO-blih-wihts

5'10'', 185 01/30/1979 ( 29 ), Invermere, BC, CAN

5th NHL / 1st CBJ Season

Last Win: APR 4, 2008 @ NY RANGERS (2)

Last Shutout:

How Acquired: Signed by the Islanders as a free agent on January 15, 2009

Notes: CAREER: Has appeared in 37 career NHL games with the NY Islanders, compiling a 16-13-2 record, 2.55 GAA and .920 SV% from 2003-08. He spent the first part of the 2008-09 season with Kazan Ak-Bars (KHL), where he posted an 11-8-3 record and 2.77 GAA in 21 games. Has gone 80-64-13 with a 2.53 GAA and 15 shutouts in 162 career AHL games. Played four seasons at the University of Denver, where he went 44-26-6 with a 2.20 GAA and eight shutouts in 85 games.

GPI

Min

W

L

T

OT

SO

GA

GAA

Saves

Sv %

Season

2

109

0

2

0

0

0

7

3.85

40

0.851

Career

39

2035

16

15

1

1

0

89

2.62

978

0.917

Goaltenders - Injured Reserve List

31 Pascal Leclaire Gpas-CAL lah-CLAIR

6'2'', 200 11/07/1982 ( 26 ), Repentigny, QC, CAN

4th NHL / 4th CBJ Season

Last Win: NOV 14, 2008 @ BUFFALO (4)

Last Shutout: FEB 23, 2008 @ MONTREAL (21)

How Acquired: Columbus' first pick, 8th overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft

Notes: CAREER: Went 24-17-6 with 2.25 GAA, .919 SV%, 9 SO in 54 games with Columbus in 2007-08… Was second in the NHL in shutouts… His nine shutouts nearly doubled the previous mark… Opened the season with back-to-back home shutouts and set a franchise record for longest shutout streak (156:29)… Had 38 saves in first NHL shutout Oct. 27, 2006 vs. Los Angeles on Oct. 27… Helped Canada win silver medal at 2008 World Championships… Won silver medal and was top goaltender at 2002 World Jr. Championships.